Black Cat Launch Video

In November 1997 we launched our Didi 38 "Black Cat" after 2 years of building, only 2000 hours for an amateur-built ocean-crossing sailboat. That boat launched a whole series of designs and new developments in plywood boat construction.

That was 20 years ago. I had video of the occasion that was recorded off the TV with a VCR. It was bad quality and it was recorded on the PAL system used in South Africa. Attempts to convert to the NTSC format used in USA were pretty disastrous, resulting in unusable files.

Today I have received a good copy of the video, in a usable format. Watching the video now reminds me just how long ago this all happened. I didnt even have much grey hair then, now it is totally silver.

This video shows the shape of "Black Cat" very clearly. So many people came to me at that time and would not believe that this beautifully rounded shape was a plywood boat. Nobody had seen a rounded plywood hull before and they would only believe that it was not fibreglass after going inside to look at the structure.

Now my radius chine plywood designs are well-known and have been built in many countries. "Black Cat" is no longer unique but she remains the leader of an exciting time for plywood boatbuilding.

To see more of our boat designs, visit http://dixdesign.com/ or http://dixdesign.com/mobile

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New Video of Phoenix III

This video was shot last Tuesday by Paul Hernes, using a camera mount above the transom of his Phoenix III. The conditions were quite light, and Paul was doing a good job of harassing Rich Sutton in his Welsford Navigator until a channel marker got in the way.

 Paul was using a Joel White Poohduck Skiff rig on his boat. As far as Im aware, Paul has three separate rigs for Phoenix III, and uses them interchangeably, as was the idea when I drew the multiple rig arrangement for the design.

Here is a photo of Pauls experimental Poohduck Skiff rig. The sail area is small, but Paul is a light-weight and he seems to like the rig.

The original Poohduck Skiff built by Rick Sutton...

...and the same rig set on Pauls Phoenix III

Phoenix III is a versatile boat, and being relatively small, experimenting with rigs costs very little.

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Periwinkle Video

Periwinkle was designed and built by me for her owner, John Shrapnel. She is a long, lean boat with very fine sections up forard to help her get through a head sea relatively easily, and without making her crew too wet. Towards the end of the video you can see how the fine entry allows the water to peel off the side of the boat rather than flying into the air to be blown over the occupants. The plank laps associated with the glued-lapstrake (clinker) construction also help tremendously in knocking the water down.

Although she is 17ft long, Periwinkle is actually a smaller boat than she looks, and she needs to be trimmed properly to get the best from her - she doesnt like weight in the bow, but all boats are compromises, and in this case the advantages described in the first paragraph make up for the attention needed regarding trim. In the video, John Shrapnel has her longitudinal trim perfect, sitting on the wide and comfortable seat just forward of the expansive aft deck and buoyancy compartment.

Large aft compartment and buoyancy/storage compartment

Room for sleeping, and note how the aft deck hatch is on the centreline, so even if the lid is open, water will not flood in during a capsise

The following video was shot on the east coast of Australia, at Caloundra, Queensland.

You can see more information about Periwinkle on my website here and here and here

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Self Steering Phonix III Video

It is generally thought that single-masted boats cant be made to self-steer. But there are plenty of examples of people who have made it happen - the best known being Joshua Slocum.

Here is a video showing Phoenix III doing the job, sailing to windward in mild conditions. I guess that many of you may have already seen this video, but I post it for those who have missed the action.

In the clip, owner/builder Paul Hernes is lying in the bilge of the boat, but he is not touching the tiller, nor in any other way cheating. The tiller has been lightly lashed and the boat is sailing herself. The rig is the balance lug, which sets on the standard mast which is used also for the sprit-sloop rig. Have a look at the tell-tales to see how well the rig has been trimmed.

With all of my designs, I try to use a single mast location and a common mast with the various rig options. This requires careful design and manipulation of sail size, shape, and location - but the net result is that it is possible to have different rigs without having to make a new mast, and more importantly, it is not necessary to change the mast step and the mast partner.

Paul frequently goes to the boat ramp with both the sprit-sloop rig and the balance lug rig. He makes the decision about which rig to set after he gets to the launch site. Sometimes he starts the day with one rig, and finishes the day with the other.

I promise that I will get an entry written dealing with Micro part 2 as soon as possible. Trust me, I have been really busy!?

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Yachting Monthly Capsize Video

Yachting Monthly have a very interesting  video of a capsize test on their YouTube Channel. I only became aware of it yesterday when it was highlighted by Scuttlebutt Sailing News.

Many have read the accounts that I have written about our capsize experience on the Didi 38 "Black Cat" in the Cape To Rio Race 2014. It is not possible to visualise what it is like to be there in that situation, even if you sit inside your boat and try to imagine it turning around you but this video goes a long way to help visualise it. It is not fully realistic because the roof stays at the top as the boat rotates, so the world is rotating around the boat rather than the boat rotating within the world around it. To provide better visualisation the camera needs to stay upright while the boat goes upside-down.

Bear in mind that this test is in flat water and the boat is rotated quite slowly from upright to upside-down, then rights itself quickly. Normally a capsize will happen in seas that are large and confused, so it is a much more violent process than seen in the video, with the boat being thrown in confused directions while it capsizes. Despite that, it is worth watching, to see the way that crew, equipment, etc was moved around the cabin and to see just how much water came in even in that still water.

It is not an experience that I would recommend to anyone, yet it is an experience that I am glad to have had and to have survived.

It also validates the toughness of the methods of construction that I have used for these plywood designs, that "Black Cat" came through with minimal damage.

To see our range of designs to carry you across the dam or around the world, please visit http://dixdesign.com/

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Scram Pram Sailing Test Video

Well, it has been a long time since I last posted, but many things have been going on and so Ive had to do some "load-shedding" for a while. In the meantime, things havent been standing still, and among other changes, I now have a new building shed which is 12 metres (40ft) by 9 metres (30ft) under roof,and 12m (40ft) by 6 metres (20ft) enclosed. The shed is insulated against our fierce summer heat and is built to withstand cyclonic winds. In addition to normal (for Australia) 240 volt single-phase AC power, Ive got 415 volt three-phase AC hooked up to a couple of outlets. I just need some money now so I can purchase a big 3-phase compressor!!

Shed nearing completion - three big 3 metre Rolla Doors for flow-through ventilation (and drive-through with my truck and trailers), a couple of big windows, and three big spinning roof ventilators. Im in Heaven!

Being beaten-up by a jealous local thug, while at the same time being protected by my vicious Toy Poodle called Brandy

Both of us very tired, but also very happy!

Since the photos were taken Ive moved in a lot of gear, and most importantly, built a 12m x 600mm workbench down one entire side. Ive laser-leveled it, and run a 4" dust extraction pipe underneath the length of the bench, with multiple blast-gate equipped inlets spaced regularly.

In February and April I posted some information about a Jim Michalak-designed Scram Pram which I had been working on for a customer/friend, Greg Flemming.  You can see them HERE and HERE

Anyway, my part of the job was finished quite a long while back, and the boat, Nellie, has been in my care waiting for Greg to complete a move and then pick her up for internal finishing and painting. A couple of weeks ago some wooden boat friends were camping out at a local lake, and it was too good an opportunity to miss, so with Gregs permission - encouragement, in fact - I took Nellie for some test sailing.

She performed very well indeed with her Jim Michalak homemade sail, and during the filming we had no water-ballast in the tanks. In the shots from outside, I was sailing the boat by myself, but in the shots taken from aboard you can see that I allowed some local pirates on-board. I did subsequently fill all of the ballast tanks, and she continued to sail superbly. It was nice to be out of the sun and spray, and I can assure you that the boat ventilated effectively from the sail down-draft.

Have a look at the VIDEO and see what you think.

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